The Grey Man- Partners

by JL Curtis

  She’d just finished changing Jace, and was picking him up when Aaron yelled, “Jesse!”

  She scooped up Jace and went down the hall at a run, “What? What’s the matter Aaron?”

  Aaron pointed to the stack of documents, his finger shaking, “The fucking Corps is trying to kick me out!”

  Jesse stood openmouthed for a few seconds, then turned and put Jace in the playpen. Coming back, she first hugged Aaron, then sat at the table, “What do you mean kick you out?”

  Aaron shoved the stack of documents at her, “This shit says I’m not physically qualified to continue service in the Marines due to my injuries." He got up and stalked into the kitchen and Jesse heard him rooting around in the cabinets but didn’t pay attention as she quickly scanned the documents.

  She was overwhelmed by the acronyms. DES[19], IPEB[20], PEB[21], MEB[22], just one after another. She reread the cover letter, and was stunned to see that Aaron was, according to an MEB performed at Walter Reed, 100% disabled for his amputation, knee and stump problems, the lung wound, and PTSD. She didn’t remember Aaron ever saying anything about it, and finally looked up as he threw himself back in the chair across from her.

  She asked tentatively, “Um, do you remember anything about a medical board at Walter Reed?”

  Aaron looking puzzled said, “I had like five or six boards there and at Fort Sam. Hell, I was so doped up half the time I had no idea what they were about. Still don’t for that matter. Buncha damn gobbledy-gook.”

  “Aaron, this says it’s the results of an informal… personnel evaluation board last month. Do you remember that?”

  “No. I haven’t been in front of any boards, unless you count Captain Fischer’s board since I got back here.”

  “Well, do you recognize any of these names? Colonel Michael M. Mitchell? Captain Richard M. Goss, or Lieutenant Lee R. Saddler, Medical Corps?”

  Aaron glared at the table and gritted out “Marionette Mitchell is the battalion commander, Goss is our team captain, and I have no fucking idea who Saddler is.”

  “I’m sorry honey; I don’t know who all these people are. It says here you can request a formal evaluation board. Are you going to do that? Or do you want to?”

  Aaron leaned forward putting his head in his hands, “Right now I don’t know what I want to do. I just don’t know.” Jace started crying, and they both started up, but Jesse waved Aaron back down.

  ***

  After dinner, Jesse and Aaron went back over the documentation, with Matt and Felicia looking up various terms for them on the computer. Aaron finally said, “I think I’ll fight this, but I guess I’ll have to go to the JAG office and get a lawyer to find out what my rights are first.”

  Jesse reached over and grabbed Aaron’s hand, “Let me call Uncle Billy. He’s our lawyer now and he can probably give you some advice.”

  Aaron squeezed her hand, “Tomorrow? Isn’t it too late tonight?”

  Jesse reached for her phone, “It’s never too late for Uncle Billy.” Dialing Billy’s number, Jesse hit speaker and set the phone on the table between them.

  After the fourth ring, Jesse was beginning to wonder, when Billy answered, “Hey kiddo. How are you doing?”

  Jesse shook her head fondly, “Uncle Billy I’m not a kid anymore, I have a kid now. Physically we’re all good. I’ve got you on speaker with Aaron, and Matt and Felicia say hi.”

  They heard rustling on the other end, then Billy answered, “Well, that’s good news. But for you to be calling at this hour, something is up. So go ahead and tell me what’s going on.”

  Jesse and Aaron looked at each other, and Aaron finally said, “Mister Moore, the Marines are trying to kick me out on disability. I got this package from them today.”

  Billy came back immediately, “Do you want to fight it?”

  Aaron looked at Jesse, “Yes sir. I still think I can contribute.”

  There was dead air for a few seconds, then Billy Moore asked very formally, “Aaron Miller, are you asking me to represent you in a personnel board hearing to contest your removal from active duty due to disability?”

  “Um, yes sir.”

  Billy said briskly, “I need copies of all those documents faxed to me by tomorrow morning. Go find a Kinko’s office and use their facility to send it. Jesse, you still have my fax number?”

  “Yes sir.”

  Another half hour on the phone with Billy, and he’d wrung about all he could out of Aaron about what he remembered. He cautioned Aaron not to say anything to the command until he could review the documents and see what actions were available.

  Aaron went to find the local Kinko’s, and Jesse took Boo Boo for a walk with Jace, so Boo Boo could do her business. By the time she’d gotten Jace down, Aaron was back and they headed to bed, leaving Matt and Felicia on the couch watching TV.

  ***

  Two days later, Matt and Aaron came home to find Billy bouncing Jace on his knee as Boo Boo jumped and barked, causing Jace to giggle and laugh. Aaron thought, He’s not much to look at, but Mister Moore is something else. I can’t imagine him as a Green Beret, much less doing some of the things I think they did. He looks like somebody’s weird uncle with the pigtail, the cowboy boots, and that funky little beard. Guess there is really no accounting for looks. “Mister Moore, I didn’t expect to find you here.”

  Billy bounced Jace again, “Well, I needed to visit a client out here anyway, so I came a couple of days early. I sent Jesse and Felicia after real food. They should be back in a little while. ‘Lo Matt, how are you doing? Looks like married life is agreeing with you.”

  Aaron said, “Here, let me take Jace and get him down for a nap.”

  Matt chuckled, “It’s a lot better this time around. Don’t know if you were told, but Felicia is pregnant, so I’m going to be a daddy at my advanced age.”

  Billy laughed, “Yep, heard about that. You’re gonna be busy.” Pointing to the hallway, “”You’ve seen it up close, probably smelled it too.”

  Matt smiled, “Yeah, nuclear doesn’t begin to describe it!”

  Aaron came back with a drowsy Jace in his arms, Boo Boo following close behind. He grabbed a blanket out of the playpen, dropped it on the floor and laid Jace on it. Boo Boo lay down next to Jace and put her head on her paws, watching him.

  Billy asked Aaron, “Is there someplace we can talk?”

  Aaron looked at Matt, “Mister Moore, as far as I’m concerned Matt can hear anything you tell me. He and I’ve been bouncing ideas off each other since I got the package. I don’t have anything to hide from him or Jesse or Felicia.”

  Billy reached into his ever-present briefcase and pulled out a half filled yellow pad, “Okay, here’s where I think we stand. First, have you received any communication from the JAG office concerning this?”

  “No sir. Should I have?”

  Billy sighed, “According to Title Ten and the Commandant, you should have been receiving JAG support all the way back to your time at Walter Reed…”

  “Uh, I think a JAG guy came and talked to me there, but I don’t remember much about what he said. Hell, I was so doped up half the time, I didn’t even know Jesse was there!”

  “But nothing here, correct?”

  “No sir.”

  Turning to Matt he asked, “Y’all are known to the JAGs here, right?”

  Matt nodded, “Yes sir. I saw Colonel Carson, the head JAG, at the range qualifying a couple of weeks ago. Matter of fact, we chatted for a few minutes.”

  Billy scribbled a note then looked at Aaron, “You should have been given legal counsel prior to the informal PEB. That’s one strike. They are short-cutting the timeline here, this should be taking a hundred and twenty days, but they’ve already whacked forty-five off the front, and if you don’t file for a formal PEB in thirty days from date of receipt, you’ll be processed for discharge.”

  Aaron looked bewildered, “But… How can they do that? I thought I had to have more boards?”

  Billy pulled o
ut his copy of the files, extracted the MEB done at Walter Reed and said, “No, they used the board done at Walter Reed that says you’re one hundred percent disabled. And that was agreed to by the VA, right here.” Billy pointed to a scribbled signature and date, “Legally they could have medically retired you right out of Reed.”

  Aaron burst out, “Then why didn’t they!”

  Billy smiled, “You had a rabbi somewhere.”

  Matt laughed at that, “I think I know who.”

  Aaron and Billy both looked at him, “Who?” They chorused.

  “Captain Fischer. He’d rehabbed you once, rehabbed Jesse, and she impressed him. He may be a screwball, but I’m betting he’s got some power in the military medical community. He’s chief of surgery at one of the largest Navy hospitals and head of an advanced rehabilitation facility.”

  Billy nodded, “Didn’t think about him, but you could be right. I was thinking more somebody you served under. So what it comes down to, somebody here doesn’t like you. They want you out and are playing exactly by the letter of the law here. Doing exactly what is required by Title Ten, and nothing more.”

  Aaron said bitterly, “Goss. That fucker is paying Snake and me back for Fallujah. He can’t get to Matt, but he’s got us under his thumb.”

  “He’s your company commander, right?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Aaron, I’m going to be blunt. I will give you both options that I see. One is to request a formal PEB. This will allow you to have legal representation there and ask questions. Two, you accept the recommendations of the informal PEB and gracefully bow out of the Marine Corps with a full disability, which will pay you for that disability for life.”

  Aaron slammed the table, scaring Jace into wakefulness, and causing Boo Boo to start barking, “I am not fucking disabled! I was doing fine until Goss showed up and started screwing with us!”

  Matt picked Jace up and soothed him as Billy reached over a put his hand on Aaron’s shoulder, “Aaron, I hear what you’re saying, but the reality is they’ve got every reason in the world to get you out. I wasn’t going to say anything, but I’ve talked to some folks I know back in DC; they are cutting a lot of folks, like you, loose. You are a political liability to them, and as a senior enlisted with combat experience, just like the mid-grade officers, they’d like to see you out of the military. Every time they do the walk in the Pentagon, it gets a lot of press, and brings the wounded back in front of the public’s view.”

  Aaron leaned back, looking at the ceiling and biting his lip, “So you’re telling me to give it up and just go away.”

  Patiently Billy said, “No, that is not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that is one of the two options. The other is a formal board, with legal representation. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that you’ll be able to stay on active duty, but it might smoke some things out of the woodwork.”

  Aaron looked at Billy, “Mister Moore, what would you do? I feel like I want to fight it, but…”

  Boo Boo started barking and headed for the front door as Billy said, “You have two weeks to make that decision. Talk to Jesse. If you want representation, I’ll be happy to do it, okay?”

  Aaron nodded as Jesse and Felicia came in carrying bags as Boo Boo jumped at them and Jace started laughing in Matt’s arms.

  JAG and Lawyers

  Aaron, in his service dress greens stepped into the Judge Advocate General’s office in the headquarters building. The corporal looked up at Aaron saying, “Gunny Miller?”

  “Yes, ma’am, that’s me.”

  “Good, the colonel will see you shortly. Need a cup of coffee?”

  “Please!”

  The corporal dug out a guest cup for Aaron, pouring it and handing it to him. She pointed him to the chairs and went back to working on her computer.

  Ten minutes later, the corporal’s phone rang. She listened, hung up and motioned to Aaron. She knocked on the colonel’s door, opened it and said, “Colonel Carson, Gunnery Sergeant Aaron Miller is here for his meeting with you.”

  Aaron marched in and came to attention in front of the colonel’s desk. “Gunnery Sergeant Miller reporting as ordered, sir!”

  The colonel stood up. “At ease Gunny, I’m Bill Carson. I understand you have some questions about a PEB?” Coming around the desk, he shook Aaron’s hand and steered him over to the small conference table sitting to the side of the office. “More coffee,” he asked.

  “No sir, I’m fine. Sir, I asked for Captain Hurst, but he’s transferred?”

  Carson motioned for Aaron to sit, and took the chair across from him, “The good captain, for his sins, is now back in DC at Henderson Hall.” Aaron winced at that and the colonel laughed. “Now you said you have some documents?”

  Aaron handed the colonel the package from the IPEB and the colonel flipped through it quickly, writing notes on a yellow pad. Aaron couldn’t help but watch him. What is it with lawyers? Do they all use yellow pads? Mister Moore must have four or five in his briefcase, and now the colonel. I think Captain Hurst used one too…

  The colonel looked up sharply, “Gunny, you say we never contacted you about this?”

  “No sir. The only thing I remember is a Marine Captain coming with me to a board at Walter Reed. Honestly, I don’t remember much about that.”

  The colonel persisted, “But we, here at Pendleton, have never contacted you, correct?”

  Aaron shook his head, “No sir. Nobody here.”

  Colonel Carson stacked the papers very carefully, and Aaron sensed he was angry. But not at him. “Gunny, do you want to request a formal PEB?”

  “Sir, that’s what I wanted to talk to the captain about. To see what I needed to do.”

  “Gunny, I’m going to handle this one myself. You want a formal PEB, you will get one. I’m guessing sooner rather than later, right?”

  “I think it has to be within thirty days, sir.”

  Carson leaned back, “Yes it does. Do you have a list of witnesses you’d like to call?”

  Aaron shifted nervously, “Sir, I didn’t know I could have any. What kind of witnesses?”

  The colonel smiled, “Anybody who can support your side of the case, that you’re fully qualified to remain on active duty?”

  “Do you need them right now, sir?” Aaron asked.

  “Not right now, but as soon as you can. I need to start making some calls, and if you’d leave your contact information with the corporal out front, I’ll let you know as soon as I have anything set up. Do you think you could get me a witness list in the next couple of days?”

  Aaron nodded quickly, “Yes sir. I can do that.”

  The colonel stood and Aaron quickly followed, coming to attention. Carson said, “Dismissed. We’ll get this sorted out, Gunny.”

  Aaron walked out of the office wondering how much trouble he’d just started, then remembered Billy Moore’s comment about how it was his decision. Well, for better or worse, I made a decision. Hell, it can’t be any worse. I don’t want to get kicked out!

  ***

  Aaron had provided his witness list to the colonel after consulting with Jesse and Matt. He’d narrowed it down to Captain Fischer, Chief Holt, Lieutenant Keel, Snake Venmen, and Doc Baker. He’d checked, but Captain Grazio was still hospitalized and not available, and neither was the colonel.

  A couple of days passed, and Aaron began to get worried, but Matt reminded him that the Marine Corps grinds along slowly. Finally, on Friday, his cell rang and he grabbed it quickly. He didn’t recognize the number and cautiously said, “Hello?”

  Colonel Carson was on the other end, and told Aaron that his PEB was set for Monday the next week. Also the colonel had bad news, in that Captain Fischer wasn’t available to testify as a witness, since he would be sitting on the PEB as the senior medical representative. Aaron thanked him and turned to Snake, “Well, I’m going to the board on the ninth. Guess we’ll see what happens then.”

  Snake said, “This is just so much BS, I
mean damn… It ain’t like you can’t, or haven’t been doing your job!”

  “I guess we better let the good lieutenants know we’ll be gone that day. I can’t help but wonder if Goss will be there?”

  Snake grinned evilly, “I hope you get a chance to fry that bastard for what he did. I hope the colonel asks him about Fallujah and the crap he pulled there.”

  Aaron shook his head, “I doubt they’ll let him, it’s really not relevant to what they’re doing to me now.”

  Snake asked, “Is your fancy lawyer coming out?”

  Aaron slapped his head, “Oh shit. I better get Jesse to call Mister Moore! I didn’t even think about that! Damn, damn, damn… Well, if nothing else Colonel Carson will represent me. Cover for me, I’ll be back in ten.” Aaron said as he jumped up grabbed his cover and headed for the door.

  Snake replied, “Got you covered, take whatever time you need.”

  ***

  Monday morning at eight o’clock, Aaron was standing outside the conference room where the PEB was being held, in his dress blues. Billy Moore and Colonel Carson had been closeted in the colonel’s office Sunday afternoon and again this morning and Aaron was worried, since neither one of them would tell him what he was supposed to do.

  He reached up and patted his blouse pocket, where a single folded piece of paper rested. He’d agonized over what he’d written there for the last couple of days, not sharing it with anyone.

  Finally, the two of them came down the hall, and Aaron shook his head. Colonel Carson, looking like a Marine Ichabod Crane, next to short, pig-tailed and bearded Billy Moore almost made Aaron laugh, until he thought about what was at stake. He automatically held the door for them, as Billy said, sotto voice, “Follow us in.”

  Aaron dutifully followed the two lawyers into the conference room, now configured as a hearing room. He looked up front to see Colonel Hart, Captain Fischer and another colonel that he didn’t know sitting at the head table. Sitting at what he thought of as the prosecutor’s table was a Navy JAG lieutenant commander and the lieutenant doctor he remembered seeing at the rehab clinic.

  Aaron knew he should be paying attention, but he tuned out the proceedings at the start of the hearing, knowing it was all formulaic, and the only thing that meant anything to him, was going to be the decision at the end. The Navy JAG reviewed the results of the MEB and IPEB for the panel, and there were no objections from either Colonel Carson or Billy.